A few years ago, my favorite dish was taken off of the menu at Mecha (a noodle bar in Fairfield, CT). I was obsessed with that dish. It featured Korean rice cakes, ground pork, bok choy, and it was SO spicy and delicious. Whenever I went to the restaurant, the chef would leave out one of the ingredients to make it gluten free! I’ve thought about this dish every single day since it was taken off of the menu. I crave this meal SO intensely sometimes… so I decided to try and recreate it! Overall, it turned out very well and I was SO happy to be able to have Korean rice cakes again!
This is the meal from Mecha (left) compared to the dish I made (right).
Tips for making the rice cakes –
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#1 – Use a lot of sesame oil so the rice cakes don’t stick to the pan! These rice cakes, when cooked, have a tendency to stick to the pan like glue. And once they stick, they don’t come off. Luckily, there is a solution. Keep adding sesame oil to the pan while you’re cooking, and use a spatula to continuously move the rice cakes around.
#2 – Choose your own protein. I used beef for this although the original dish used pork. The reason I used beef was because I had some on hand and we haven’t been going to the store frequently because of the pandemic. You can choose your protein too, such as ground pork, beef, turkey, chicken, or whatever you’d like.
#3 – Cook the meat first, separately. The rice cakes take only a few minutes to cook, and I like to cook them in the sauce from the beef. Because of this, it’s important to cook the beef first so nothing ends up under-cooked.
#4 – MAKE SURE your Korean rice cakes are gluten free. I did a lot of searching before I was able to find a gluten free rice cake like this one. However, you’re in luck! This is the link to the rice cakes I bought, and I know for a fact they are gluten free! If you want to purchase them from amazon you can find the link HERE.
The ingredients –
This list of ingredients may look long and complicated, but I promise this recipe is simpler than it seems! It takes less than 20 minutes to make, and at the end, you have an exotic and impressive meal!
The instructions –
The first step of the recipe is to mix the ground meat of your choice with all of the sauce ingredients (soy sauce, ground ginger, scallions, sesame oil, red chili paste, Korean gojuchang, lime juice and zest, and rice wine vinegar).
Then, add some vegetable or olive oil to a pan on medium heat, and add the ground beef with the sauce.
Cook through fully, and then remove from the pan and store in a separate bowl until it is time to combine to rice cakes and meat.
Now, add about 2 inches of chicken stock to your large skillet (about 1 cup) and add the rice cakes.
Cook for about 5 minutes until soft and chewy. By then, a lot of the chicken stock will have been absorbed, but if there is any extra, you can pour it out. Add the cooked ground beef to the pan and mix to combine.
Last, add the spinach and sesame seeds and mix again. Transfer into a serving bowl, top with chopped green onions and more sesame seeds, and enjoy!
Gluten Free Korean Rice Cakes with Ground Beef
Ingredients
- 1 bag rice cakes
- 1 package ground beef
- 1 bunch scallions, chopped
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- juice of 1 lime
- zest of 1 lime
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp sesame oil (plus extra for the pan)
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp red chili paste
- 2 tbsp gojuchang
- 2 cups spinach
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds (black or white)
- 1 cup chicken stock
Instructions
- First, mix together the soy sauce, lime juice and zest, 1/2 of the chopped scallions, rice vinegar, ginger, sesame oil, fish sauce, gojuchang, and red chili paste. Whisk to combine.
- Add this sauce to a large mixing bowl with the ground beef, and mix until combined.
- Place a large skillet over medium heat and add some olive, vegetable, or sesame oil. Once the pan has heated up, add the ground beef.
- Cook until browned and cooked through fully. There should be some extra sauce at the bottom of the pan.
- Transfer the cooked ground beef into a large bowl, however, keep the sauce in the pan.
- Add the chicken stock to the pan, still on medium heat, and add the rice cakes. Cook for a few minutes (about 5), stirring constantly until chewy and soft. Add extra oil, and then add the ground beef back into the pan.
- At this point, turn the heat off, but keep the pan on the burner. Add the sesame seeds and spinach, and mix. Keep stirring to ensure the rice cakes do not stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Remove from the pan and transfer into a serving bowl. Top with extra sesame seeds and the rest of the scallions.
- Serve, and enjoy!